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JUST when you thought that the controversies that
mercilessly (and well deservedly) hounded review centers in the wake
of the shocking cheating saga of the nursing examinations of a few
short years back (that to this day give rise to tasteless jokes on
US late night TV shows) had conveniently gone the way of most other
national scandals, the Commission on Higher Education put the issue
back on the front page last week (which must have been a relief for
CHED chair Romulo Neri for it got him off the news for a change!).
Furthermore, the Commission on
Higher Education directive compelling every independent nursing
licensure examination (NLE) review center to affiliate with an
accredited college by May, or face closure got the resounding
backing of Catanduanes Rep. Joseph Santiago who told us that he
was “totally behind” the CHED ruling.
“This will ensure the
scholastic accountability of review centers. This will also check
the proliferation of deficient reviewers, including fly-by-night
operators,” Santiago said.
With nursing and care-giving
proving to be the quick fix for Filipinos anxious to go abroad and
provide for their families, this development will be crucial to
ensure that both the prospective applicant and the potential
employers both get a fair deal.
For his part, Santiago minced no
words when he described “anomalous from the start” the spread of
so-called independent review centers that are not allied with or
based in a nursing college.
“There should be no extension
of the CHED deadline. Review centers that fail to comply on time
should be closed down instantly,” Santiago stressed.
Malacañang issued Executive
Order 566 on Sept. 8, 2006, directing the CHED “to regulate the
establishment and operation of review centers and similar
entities.” The CHED directive for nursing review centers to
affiliate with a recognized tertiary institution is meant to
implement the presidential order.
The Palace issued EO 566 to
prevent a repeat of the leakage that marred the June 2006 NLE. At
least three independent review centers were linked to the cheating.
Santiago has been pushing the
closing down of substandard nursing schools. He previously bared a
list of the best and worst nursing colleges, based on the historical
performance of their graduates in the NLE, in a bid to discourage
parents form sending their children to the low-grade schools.
A total of 632,108 students are
now enrolled in more than 400 nursing schools nationwide, up 30
percent from the 486,233 that enlisted in academic year 2006-2007,
according to CHED.
“Many young Filipinos yearn for
good-quality nursing education because this offers them a way out of
poverty and the chance to work in greener pastures. We must
safeguard this hope and dream by seeing to it that flunkey schools
are shut down,” Santiago said.
There have been allegations
regulators have failed to check the spread of “less than
adequate” nursing schools partly because a number of them are
supposedly backed by influential politicians.
Santiago, meanwhile, renewed his
call for the CHED to thoroughly screen and pre-approve all publicity
materials put out by nursing schools “to ensure truth in
advertising.” He also said every commercial should clearly include
the NLE pass rates of the school’s graduates in the last five
years.
“If only 10 percent of the
school’s graduates passed the NLE the first time they took it,
then this fact should be visibly included in the promotional
material. Otherwise, the advertisement should not be authorized, and
the school that put out the uncertified paid publicity should be
penalized right away,” Santiago said.
Santiago likewise urged the CHED
and the Professional Regulation Commission to publish in at least
five newspapers of general circulation the NLE pass rates of all
schools semi-annually, after the release of the June and December
test results.
We hope the CHED—and, indeed
Rep. Santiago—keep their eye on this one and not leave the
monitoring to the Nursing Regulatory Board.
As the NRB so heroically proved
when the scandal broke three years ago and then shockingly took its
course—proving alarming levels of incompetence at the entity—it
is tainted beyond any hope of recall and has totally lost the trust
of the public.
rjottings@yahoo.com
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